Today, a variety of conventional lawn spreaders and sprayers are available which are designed to spread fertilizers, insecticides, weed control chemicals, seed, etc. Accordingly, the industry offers an assortment of both dry particulate spreaders and liquid sprayers to professionals and homeowners alike. One problem with conventional walk-behind units is that they require a brisk but, constant gait so as to evenly distribute the desired treatment. Even, and controlled, dispense or distribute of chemicals and fertilizer is critical to the effectiveness as well as to the efficient use of the treatment. For example, a lawn can easily burn if treated with an over abundance of fertilizer.
Conventional motion-powered (e.g., walk-behind) liquid sprayers often incorporate a pump which is actuated by rotation of a wheel upon the axle of the sprayer. Thus, the wheel and axle are not only components for moving the sprayer along the terrain, they are also necessary components to the pump for dispensing the liquid. In many traditional sprayers, a 1:1 rotational ratio is employed between the wheel/axle rotation and the pump. In other words, for each rotation of the wheel or axle, the pump impeller completes a single revolution. As will be understood, this wheel-to-pump rotation performance requires the user to maintain an extremely rapid application pace so as to distribute an effective amount of liquid.
Additionally, conventional liquid spreaders are often equipped with off-the-shelf drill-pumps which are specifically designed for high-speed revolutions produced by an electric drill. Because they are designed for operation by a power drill, these pumps inherently generate a high amount of resistance which is transferred to the operator while pushing a motion-powered sprayer. Yet another drawback of using drill pumps is that the internal rubber impeller flaps or blades are often reversed in direction causing the pump to frictionally bind. For example, oftentimes, upon removing a liquid sprayer from a landscaping trailer, the wheels may hit the ground and inadvertently spin in a reverse direction. Because conventional liquid sprayers have a rigid drive mechanism designed for forward motion only, this reverse motion often causes the flaps to frictionally bind within the drill-pump. Thus, the operator experiences an additional amount of resistance in pushing the liquid sprayer until the flaps are re-positioned in the correct orientation for forward motion.
For at least the reasons set forth above, the performance of liquid sprayers can be improved significantly.